Kangaroos! We were racing across the Australian bush (anywhere outside a city) on the Indian Pacific train, with eyes pinned on the landscape, hoping to catch sight of our first “skippy” or kangaroo. It didn’t take long, although they were quite difficult to spot, blending in with the surrounding countryside.
Do you know the collective noun for a group of kangaroos? It is a mob, court or troupe.
Which name do you prefer?
One evening after we had finished the train journey and were sitting on the porch of our holiday lodge, a troupe of kangaroos came hopping across the fields almost into the back garden. They were unfazed by us humans stood still observing them, (even the antics of Cheddar mentioned last week). As they grew accustomed to our presence they went about grazing the field. We were even entertained by a show of kick boxing!
This starts by the two (usually) male kangaroos touching noses, then boxing with the arms – like small children often playfight. The show then proceeds to high kicks with their powerful back legs.
Needless to say, I was mesmerised, but failed to get any decent recording of the entertainment.
The reason behind the kick boxing is, yes, you’ve probably guessed, a female kangaroo! But is also around dominance when water or food is scarce.
The fights we observed didn’t appear to brutal and the whole troupe seemed to stick together as they hopped off into the evening twilight.
As part of God’s creation, we are called to live in community, to share our resources, to look out for our neighbour and to be respectful of the diversity we see in creation.
Prayer: Creator God, thank you for the whole diversity of your creation. Thank you that we can marvel at the huge variety of species on this earth. Help us to learn from your creation and live as you would have us do, in community, sharing resources, and supporting our neighbour. Amen